#MMGM: Two By Dusti Bowling

I'm posting this morning with the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop. The hop is sponsored by  Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle. Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.   

I got my recommendation for this author from one of my fellow MMGM bloggers a few weeks ago. Today I'm reviewing Holding On for Dear Life  and Dust, by Dusti Bowling. 

 

Title: Holding on for Dear Life

Author: Dusti Bowling. Read by Jay Reum

Publication Info: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025. 5 hours. (Hardcover is 240 pages)

Source: Library



Publisher’s Blurb: 
Thirteen-year-old Canyon loves bull riding, but the sport doesn't exactly love him back. His body is in constant pain and doctors have warned him about the dangers of his repeated concussions, but bull riding is the only thing he and his dad connect on ever since Canyon's mom died. Canyon is convinced winning the Junior World Bull Riding championship will be the thing to bring them together again, that once he has that shiny belt buckle all the pain will be worth it. Besides, Canyon has a secret way to help his playing the fiddle.

When Canyon is unexpectedly chosen for a music competition show, a new dream begins to form. But Dad is getting worse, and Canyon feels more pressure than ever to hold his family together--even if it means choosing to hurt himself bull riding over healing through music. Soon Canyon begins to wonder if he's holding on to all the right things, or if there are some he needs to let go of.



My Review: 
I admit it: I made up excuses to do things that would allow me to keep listening to this book, because I really wanted to see how it all turned out. Not that there were big surprises (I do wonder if kids would see things as quite as inevitable as I do, since they've read a lot fewer books). Things pretty much happened as I expected, but it's a sweet story that kept me listening. Jay Reum does a great job with the narration, and Dusti Bowling certainly knows how to create characters for whom you feel a lot of sympathy and empathy.

I'm with Grandma and the little sister on the subject of bull riding, but I like their values of letting Canyon make his own choices, though I'm not sure I'd have been willing to let him decide to go back to riding after what the doctor said about the concussion. 

The conclusion isn't wholly realistic (COULD one kid have that much talent in two areas?) but it is satisfying. The author wisely leaves the final outcome unstated, which lets the reader understand what Canyon means when he talks about what's really important. 



My Recommendation: 
This is a good read that will have the kids rooting for Canyon and his friends, whatever they undertake to do. There is one slightly scary scene with an intoxicated parent, but I'd say this is okay for the 9 and up crowd.


 

 

 

 

Title: Dust
Author: Dusti Bowling, read by Laura Knight Keating
Publication Info: Little, Brown Young Readers. 2023, 7 hours. 352 pages in hardcover.
Source: Library

Publisher's Blurb (via Goodreads):
After Avalyn nearly died from an asthma attack, her parents moved her to the clear, dry air of Clear Canyon City, Arizona. And for the last ten years, she’s been able to breathe. That is, until Adam showed up.

Quiet and unkempt, Adam is an instant target for the bullies who have plagued Avalyn and her friends. As Avalyn gets to know him, she begins to suspect that the sudden, strange increase in dust storms around town are somehow connected to his emotions. She thinks his problems may be even worse at home, especially when massive black walls of dust start rolling in after the school day. Will she find a way to stand up for her new friend? Her life may just depend on it.

My Review:
I classify this one as magical realism, as most aspects of it are what you'd expect of middle school, and the character's issues with asthma are, as far as I know, accurate. But then there's that dust...

So go into this prepared with a willing suspension of disbelief, and you'll enjoy the story. Avalyn and her few friends are an interesting set, and they have a lot of growing up to do. I admit that I found the level of bullying that went on unchecked in their school to be horrifying, and I hope it's not realistic, either. That the children don't tell the relevant adults, alas, is all too realistic. That nothing seemed to change after Avalyn did speak up is... just wrong.

Avalyn has a secret, one that makes her the only person can figure out Adam's secret and get to the bottom of the problem. As an adult I got there well ahead of the characters in the book; I'm not sure if kids would jump to that conclusion as quickly,. 

My Recommendation: 
This is a good book for any kid who's of an age to be dealing with bullying, as a bully, as the bullied, or as a bystander. There are good lessons here about speaking up and standing up. There is also child abuse, which is handled well but may be an issue for younger kids. The author provides an Afterword that makes it very clear, in language that the youngest kids can understand, that abuse is not okay, is never their fault, and should be reported, over and over if necessary until someone acts. Kids under 11 or so might want to read with adult guidance. 

 



FTC Disclosure: I checked  Holding on for Dear Life out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  


 

 

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 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2026 

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